Health Blogs

Gluten Free Daily Menu #3

Today’s menu is some dishes that are becoming staples around here: steel-cut oatmeal and “snack-y” lunch.

I had a weekend where I felt really tired and empty. I had a couple periods where my lips were chalk white. My google-doctor told me it might be low iron. A lot of the foods I eat contain iron (oatmeal and raisins for one!), and I also to most of my cooking in a cast iron pan. Food cooked on cast iron absorbs some iron from the pan. So I was confused how I could have low iron. When I get blood work, my iron levels are usually great.

I did a little digging, and it looks like you need vitamin C to actually absorb the iron in my food. I eat oranges on the regular through the winter but hadn’t had citrus in a while. I’ve been taking Vitamin C pills the last week or so and I’v never felt better! Crazy, huh?

I’ve found that toppings or garnish, if you will, make all the difference in a plate a food. Garnish takes any dish to the next level in both flavor and aesthetics. Take the extra minutes to gather something from the pantry to throw on top of your oatmeal. Grab those herbs and cook that bacon to toss on top of your soup, it will make it so much better!

This lunch is a quick, clean-out-the-fridge kind of lunch. I regularly do a lunch like this: cheese and crackers then load up the rest of the plate with veggies (raw or some leftovers like the sweet potatoes above).

I use these lunches to make sure we are finishing random jars of pickles, olives, etc. too. I found I like pickles, and my kids LOVE them. So I usually toss one pickle on everyone’s plate for lunch.

Dinner – Tortilla Soup

Notes:

I am ridiculously proud of this dinner. It wasn’t too difficult, and I was able to pack in a ton of greens into this soup.

The broth and chicken came from my favorite Mexican cookbook. I did find the recipe online, but I don’t think you can view it without a subscription. Here’s a blogger’s take which is similar to mine (the broth and chicken prep is exactly the same as in the cookbook).

I took my idea from the rice bowl I had at a new restaurant in town, Core Eatery. It is the only completely gluten-free restaurant around. It makes me so sad it’s a chain, but it did have the freshest, realest food I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I was pleased when i went there. Could I make it better? Sure, but for eating out, I loved leaving a restaurant feeling satisfied and not sick-to-my-stomach full. 🙂

Basic idea: make a yummy broth then fill your bowl with chopped greens (mine is kale), black beans, chopped chicken, rice, and other veggies (We did avocado, green pepper, and jalapeno.) and pour the broth over everything. Top with queso fresco and sour cream.

It was so good. Dan thought possibly the best dish I’ve ever made. Woot! Try it!